


our endings were always bittersweet

by starberryteas



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Angst, Haikyuu!! Light Novel Spoilers, Haikyuu!! Manga Spoilers, M/M, Pain, Third Year Hinata Shouyou and Kageyama Tobio
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-17
Updated: 2020-08-17
Packaged: 2021-03-06 02:41:30
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,683
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25946032
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/starberryteas/pseuds/starberryteas
Summary: With their third year coming to a close, secrets get out, and Kageyama believes a little more in fate. He was sure he and Hinata would meet again, much like they did three years prior inside of Karasuno's gym.
Relationships: Hinata Shouyou/Kageyama Tobio
Comments: 2
Kudos: 65





	our endings were always bittersweet

**Author's Note:**

> light novel 12 got me thinking many thoughts :0 esp how bittersweet their last goodbye was
> 
> from here on out, haikyuu!! manga spoilers and haikyuu!! light novel 12 spoilers !!

It wasn’t too far into their third year when Kageyama noticed something was off.

It wasn’t so much with the way he or his teammates played, if anything, Karasuno was  _ soaring. _ Flying to heights they’ve never realized they could go thanks to Yamaguchi’s leadership and the team’s effort. They’d reach the top in no time, wherever it was.

Kageyama wasn’t sure what was off at first until Tsukishima confronted him about it. It was a normal afternoon practice, Kageyama and Yamaguchi watching the team as they practiced serves and receives. Tsukishima came up to them during a water break, raising an eyebrow as he and Kageyama met each other’s gazes.

“Where’s Hinata?” Tsukishima asked, crossing his arms as he put his water bottle onto the ground.

Kageyama stilled, not exactly having an answer. Come to think of it, Hinata wasn’t there during morning practice either, and Kageyama himself was  _ late _ to morning practice. Yamaguchi decided to answer after realizing Kageyama didn’t have one, giving Tsukishima a tiny smile. “He said he’d be absent today.”

Kageyama looked to Yamaguchi. “He did?”

Yamaguchi nodded. “Apparently his mother called Takeda-sensei this morning,” Yamaguchi said. He gave Kageyama a small pat on the back. “He wasn’t here when you came late, which is probably why you didn’t know,” Yamaguchi added.

Tsukishima snorted. “Oh? Is the king worried about our little decoy?”

Kageyama rolled his eyes. “Shut up,” he grunted, furrowing his eyebrows. He was worried about Hinata, but it wasn’t like he’d tell Tsukishima.

Their dynamic was complex, Kageyama always observed. They’d fight, banter, throw compliments at each other, and sometimes be nice to each other. They’d spent so long together, Kageyama felt like getting worried about Hinata was something that had come with the amount of time they spent together.

Still, he couldn’t shrug off the sympathetic look Yachi was throwing him and the two others he was with from across the gym.

He forgot about the whole ordeal when practices when by quicker than they were coming, graduation vastly approaching. Kageyama’s sets have gotten better, he’d realized, and so had Hinata’s receives.

There was a lot from their first year that they’d improved on, and Kageyama felt a sense of pride wash over him. They were going to nationals for their second year, after all. He was excited, hoping Karasuno could make it higher than before.

It wasn’t until he got an invitation from the V.League that things started to spiral downward. It took him until a few days before they went to nationals to tell his team. He was going to tell Hinata about it, but he still wasn’t sure if he was going to accept the invitation.

After weighing his options during a practice game he participated in during practice, he decided his answer.

“I got an invitation to the Schweiden Adlers the other day,” he tells Coach Ukai, who was standing with Takeda-sensei as they addressed the team before they were due to leave the gym for the night.

Coach Ukai smiled at him, crossing his arms. “And?”

“I accepted,” Kageyama muttered, loud enough for his team to hear.

He snorted at the cheers the underclassmen gave him, happy one of their teammates got invited to one of Japan’s Division One V.League teams. Kageyama could only be thankful for Yamaguchi, Yachi, and Tsukishima’s smiles, people who always believed in him ever since their first year.

He wished he missed Hinata’s smile, one that didn’t reach his eyes. He wished he missed Hinata’s voice crack when he exclaimed, “Congratulations, Kageyama-kun! You did it!” He wished he missed the way Hinata looked at him like he was leaving him behind. He couldn't.

He wasn’t. Kageyama was sure he’d never leave Hinata behind, he’d always wait. Which was why he wasn’t sure why Hinata started avoiding him.

“I’m not avoiding you, stupid,” Hinata grunted when Kageyama confronted him about the issue, crossing his arms. “I’m trying to get better before we go to nationals!”

Kageyama wanted to tell him he didn’t have to get better, he was already amazing. But he shut his mouth, and hummed. He wasn’t going to lie if Tsukishima asked if he was concerned again, Hinata never was one to degrade himself. “Are you okay?” He found himself asking.

Hinata nodded. “Better than ever! Now, toss to me!”

Kageyama huffed. It was times like those when he realized there was still so much about Hinata he didn’t know.

He didn’t mean to overhear Hinata and Yachi talking. He was going to ask Yachi if she had notes on the underclassmen and what they needed to improve on so he could talk to Yamaguchi on what to practice that afternoon.

“What did you mean when you told me that?” Yachi asked, seemingly hesitant.

Kageyama made his presence quiet, trying not to react when Hinata answered. “He didn’t tell us until a few days later. He didn’t even confide in anyone!”

Yachi only sighed, letting Hinata’s words fly in the air. “You realize Kageyama-kun doesn’t have to tell you everything about him, right? Just like you don’t tell him everything about you!”

Hinata chuckled painfully, Kageyama’s chest tightening. “I just… I really thought maybe he’d tell me about something like that before he told the team, you know?”

“We all make hard decisions, Hinata,” Yachi managed, her voice shaking slightly. Kageyama knew where this might lead, Yachi was doing one of her manager speeches. Though, this one felt more painful than any other speech she’d given. “Sometimes we choose not to tell anyone in fear of hurting them or just because we forget. It’s ultimately that person’s choice. And sometimes, it ends in a bittersweet way.”

Kageyama buys Hinata meat buns as they reach Sakanoshita, Coach Ukai raising an eyebrow as Kageyama requests four and insists he can pay for that many.

“Why?” Hinata asked, looking up at Kageyama in surprise. “You could’ve bought them for the underclassmen!”

Kageyama shrugged. “Sorry, I guess.” When Hinata looked at him in confusion, Kageyama continued. “I was going to tell you about my invitation. I just wasn’t sure of my answer until I told the team.”

Kageyama was glad he didn’t miss the glint in Hinata’s eyes when he pulled out a meat bun, shoving it into Kageyama’s face. “You’re a mind reader, Kageyama.”

Kageyama took the meat bun, biting into it, pretending he didn’t listen to Hinata’s conversation with Yachi. “Only when it comes to you, dumbass.”

“I got invited to the Olympics,” Kageyama blurted during lunch one day when he was eating with Yachi, Yamaguchi, Tsukishima, and Hinata.

Yamaguchi threw his hand up. “Yeah! Always knew you’d make it, Kageyama!”

“Good job,” Tsukishima said, a chaotic glint in his eyes. “Guess that means you’ll have to leave early, huh?”

Kageyama tilted his head. “Leave early? Well, yeah, for practice overseas.”

“Woah! You have to go overseas?” Hinata asked, his smile not reaching his eyes once again.

Kageyama nodded. “I have to go to North America to train.”

Tsukishima huffed. “Before Hinata has to go to Brazil?”

Kageyama stilled.  _ This _ was new information. He looked at Hinata, furrowing his eyebrows. “You’re going to Brazil?”

When Hinata nodded, Yachi telling him he’d decided on it well into their second year, Kageyama regretted buying those meat buns. He wished he didn't have such a thought, he'd never deny Hinata meat buns. But Hinata didn't confide in Kageyama either, so why would he confide in Hinata?

He pushed the thought aside. There was so much they didn't know about each other.

Kageyama crossed his arms. "South America, huh?"

He didn't miss the way Hinata's smile brightened as his words left his mouth, Kageyama glad he was now shining like he always had before.

On the day of graduation, after three whole years in Karasuno, Kageyama never knew he would stand face to face with Hinata, their certificates in their hands.

“You look weird,” Kageyama said, causing Hinata to laugh. A genuine laugh, one he hadn’t seen in so long.

“Is it because I’m finally not wearing a hoodie?” Hinata asked. “My mom wanted me to do it. Said it’d look better when I take off my gakuran.”

Kageyama tilted his head. “Why would you do that?”

Hinata met Kageyama’s gaze for the first time that day. “Want to go to the gym?”

Kageyama never knew this was how he’d end his years at Karasuno. Facing his now former partner, one who’d just received one of his “killer” serves, not on the verge of tears. Maybe a little.

Hinata walked up to his gakuran, removing his second button and shoving it towards Kageyama. “See you,” Hinata repeated, words he’d just said moments ago. “See you, Kageyama.”

Kageyama took the button, gripping it tightly in his hand when he noticed Hinata probably wouldn’t meet his gaze this last time. As if it was the last words he’d ever utter to Hinata, he smiled, aware Hinata wasn’t looking. “See you,” he repeated. “Until we meet again.”

He knew Hinata wouldn’t let it end like that. “We will,” he said firmly. “We’ll meet again and I’ll beat your ass for choosing the Olympics over me.”

Kageyama snorted.  _ Of course he would. _

Kageyama smiled as they walked out of the gym, a ghost of a smile on his lips as he watched Hinata walk away from the school they called home, the team they called family, the person he called a partner.

They’d meet again, Kageyama was sure. Maybe Hinata wasn’t going to the Olympics at this moment, wasn’t going to the V.League, but Kageyama knew he’s reach it. He’d wait, and they’d finally meet again on their fated day.

When Hinata left his sight, Kageyama let a few tears slip out as he called his sister to come pick him up. He held the button Hinata had given him to his chest, and looked upon the setting sun.

He wondered if Hinata felt how bittersweet their last moments were together. 

Fate had plans for them, Kageyama was sure, and deep down he knew Hinata believed the very same thing.

**Author's Note:**

> thanks for reading and all ur support !!
> 
> twitter: @starberryteas


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